Veiled Sights
by Liuny
Summary: Loki couldn't stand anymore his life in Asgard. He does the unthinkable and dive himself into Yggdrasil, nobody prepared him for his life on Midgard or Tony Stark for that Matter. Slash.
1. Prologue

**Veiled Sights**

**Summary:** Loki couldn't stand anymore his life in Asgard. He does the unthinkable and dive himself into Yggdrasil, nobody prepared him for his life on Midgard or Tony Stark for that Matter. Slash.

_**Disclaimer:** Nothing is mine, not even the plot. I don't own anything, I don't want it either. No copyright infringement is intended... blah, blah, blah..._

_AN: This 'is' for a prompt on the **Avengers Assemble**_. _OP asked for Loki going to Midgard and making a life for himself along with Tony Stark. I'm paraphrasing... it's an ongoing project, so yeah. Enjoy I guess. It's NOT beta'd, so beware..._

_Prologue_

Loki always felt the same pang of anxiousness and pain when he looked at the scene in front of him. The All-father and the Queen doting and praising Thor, they kissed him; they hugged him, they drank on his every word. Thor was the Golden Son, The Warrior; The Crown Prince. He took a good look at his family, he always did… they were all blondes, robust and beautiful. He sometimes considered the fact that he wasn't their son. He didn't fit with his family looks. He was dark, little; gangly and awkward… he was the Sorcerer, the person people talked behind his back; the one that was never going to fit. The spare, the second best; the darkness whereas Thor was the light, it made him fell empty and hollow inside.

He listened to his older brother laugh with hopeless abandon. He smiled sadly along with Thor. Loki retreated and put his forehead on the wall, closing his eyes. He sobbed, quietly and carefully that nobody could hear him. He felt a few tears running down his cheeks. It was a pain in his chest nobody seemed to feel, a splinter that seemed to always get deeper and deeper. He was always in dichotomy: he wanted to disappear with the same frenzy he wanted to be noticed.

"Are you alright, your highness?" A voiced could be herd. Loki jumped exalted and erasing the best he could his tribulations he looked behind.

"Um~ I'm fine…" He spoke with soft voice. The servant smiled, the child always had a pleasant voice, the voice of an Enchanter; like a whisper of the winds sharp, but kind with a tight accent.

"If I may so bold, m'lord; you don't look too well."

"My stomach is a little unsettled." He lied, granting the worried servant a smile.

"Then you should rest…"

"I will, I will go to my room and rest…"

1

Thor dragged Loki to every single craziness the older could think of and Loki, considering himself the worst pushover of god-kind history; followed right behind like a marionette. He wanted to stay in his room reading, but Thor being whom he was didn't take '_no'_ for an answer. Loki didn't understand too much, _why… _his brother had a lot of friends, so why was always him whom he came for help with his crazy ideas?

The Royal Brothers were walking the castle halls. Loki had a resigned look on his face and Thor had a shit eating grin plastered all over his face. He didn't know why Thor was so happy about. His brother had been trying to kill some monster, he didn't even care to know what it was and this day it almost killed him were it not for Loki using a spell that tricked the beast, so his brother could escape. His brother while escaping landed on the monster's body a deadly punch, _accidentally;_ resulting on the monster's death; but it was nothing to be proud of or be so happy about it. What pleasure did it bring to kill a mindless beast that didn't represent a challenge beyond brute force?

When the Throne Room was on sight, Thor grin was about to break his face and the blonde kid ran to where their parents were.

"Father! Father! I made it! I made it! I killed the beast! It was glorious father!" Thor yelled for the world to hear running like a stampede, climbing on the All-Father's lap. Loki just sighed again. Was his brother mentally challenged or something? Didn't his brother understand how close he had come of dying? If it wasn't for that spell, he would have returned home alone with the responsibility of telling their father; his precious son had just been killed by a beast. He shivered; he didn't want to imagine that scenario.

His mother's diaphanous sight crossed with his muted green. She smiled warm and kindly, shifting from all the worry she showed, before the tale of her golden son. He returned the gesture, he loved his mother dearly; he loved her so much it hurt.

"How are you faring, beloved?" The Queen asked placidly.

"I am well, mother." He answered truthfully, bowing lightly.

"This is what you have to aim to, my boy, Loki!" The All-Father told him boisterous like his older son. "Thor told me how you helped him to slay the beat!" His father proud face fell onto him. Loki smiled, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. Frigga noticed the hollow in his younger son's eyes, but she decided to remain silent.

"So, my precious Silver-tongue…" The Queen asked extending her delicate, but strong arms; so she could place her child on her lap. "What have you been doing in your free time?" She asked touching his perfect and sharp nose, making the melancholic child to giggle.

"Indeed! Indeed! My son… have you skinned a wolf? Or maybe duelled with one of our warriors and won?!" Odin asked full with energy. Thor and Odin were looking at him with the same fervour and energy, which only made him to feel more tired.

"I am afraid not, All-father. I am not much of a warrior…"

"Nonsenses! You are the best warrior I know brother! I would not be telling father about our adventure if it was not for you!"

"Well said, Thor! Well said!"

"Let the poor boy talk, husband."

"Forgive me, my Queen. I'm listening Loki."

Loki shifted on his mother's lap, really uncomfortable.

"I have found the branches of Yggdrasil, father."

"That is amazing beloved! So young and you can already see the branches?" His mother asked in awe. Loki just nodded tiredly knowing what would follow.

"Indeed it is a great feature to accomplish being so young… but Loki, my son… what I have told you about Sorcery? They are the womanish arts! You are a man! Your duty is to fight, to get stronger! Not to be reading books about sorcery and trickery! It is not proper."

"I apologize father. I will endeavour to correct my faults."

"I am sure you will, my son; because all men on our family are born to be Great Warriors!"

"Yes! Great Warriors indeed father!" Thor followed, throwing enthusiastically a fit to the air.

"That's my boy!"

2

Loki's tears were like a broken well. Why? Why it didn't matter if he told the truth or just blatantly lied? Nobody ever seemed to believe him. He noticed his mother knew what was happening, but she couldn't interfere. She wouldn't, it was a great burden to be who his mother was. All seeing Frigga… he didn't blame his mother for what it happened to him. _He couldn't, _his mother was the only ally he had in this world of warriors and big men that didn't used their brain for much.

He sobbed and had to stop because of the pain. He took his finger and carefully placed them on his sewed lips. How could have Thor condone such brutality upon his person? He was telling the truth, he nobody belied him. Hi couldn't take much more of this, he needed to do something! This was going to end on his death… his own brother! The person he thought he could let himself fall and never touch the ground had just held him against his will while his mouth was sewed. It was stupid! He didn't cut Sif's hair! Why by the nine realms would he need that silly girl's hair? He had more important things to do! And it didn't matter he had fixed a problem he didn't caused; he still was punished for it.

He couldn't take it anymore! He had tolerated a LOT! He could take the talking; the scorning… the fact that everybody despised him because he chose to be a Scholar and a Sorcerer over a warrior. He had learned to make deaf ears when his father decided to sharply point out how disappointed he was that Loki didn't care too much about what it truly mattered. For them it wasn't enough, it wasn't enough that he had taken time to become a great warrior, but he didn't enjoyed; for them it didn't mattered, for the Aesirs it was never enough it never matter when it came to his person they didn't even care how many times he had save his brother from his own foolishness. He was tired, he wanted to scream, but his voice had been taken away from him.

He needed to make a decision. He was never going to be enough for his family and trying had proved to be a danger to his life. There was only one option, so everybody could be happy in the end… he needed to step down, he needed to disappear; for the sake of his family, for his own sake they needed to break their relations before something regrettable happened.

He bespelled himself so not even the yenta of Heimdall could find him… he walked favouring the shadows so nobody would see him, he had enough shame for the eternity. He walked, stalking with his powers, until he reached the perfect spot. He took a deep breath when he saw the border. His stomach felt queasy and the sight made him dizzy for a while. A step below his feet was the abyss, the always welcoming and silent blackness…

This was not the first time he had considered ending it all, but _he _didn't want to die that was what the rest of the Aesirs wanted, to put an end to his unnaturalness. He wanted to live, he wanted to see it all… it maybe sounded cliché and naïve, but he wanted to be happy. He wanted to know happiness. He opened his arms and closed his eyes, trying to listening to the emptiness; the only answer he obtained was the uncomfortable pressure in his ears caused by the insurmountable silence of the outer space.

He sat on the verge, trying to look for an answer; the only thing that eventually appeared in front of his eyes was the branches of Yggdrasil. He could always see them when he concentrated, but he didn't know them. He couldn't surf them, because he needed some else to explain the path to him that one was Heimdall and they didn't like each other. He didn't know why, the god seemed to like his brother just fine.

He suddenly had an epiphany… he could run. He didn't need to know which branch was which, when he just wanted to run. Any realm was better than this one. He knew a lot of things could end badly for him, rushing blindly to Yggdrasil, but he already wanted to kill himself. It was a win-win situation.

Loki returned hastily to the castle and without delay began to pack his things make them so they could fit on his pocket. He was taking only the necessary and some objects that had sentimental value, he knew he was just hurting himself by taking those token of the life he was trying to leave behind, but he couldn't; he wasn't that heartless.

He waited until everything was silent. He wanted to say goodbye to his mother, but he didn't have such luxury, so when the moment came he ran away never looking back.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter I

_**Chapter I**_

3

The trip was like never he had felt before. His body hurt badly and he could feel blood rushing out of his mouth like waterfall, in the rough travel he had torn the golden threads that held his mouth shut. He couldn't move… he could barely force himself to spit the blood it kept filling his mouth. He wondered if now that he reached land he would die… he didn't care, he; for the first time, didn't care. He smiled feeling every muscle on his face prickling with pain. He sighed, devoiding his face of all infliction so his wounds wouldn't be aggravated.

He opened his eyes, his sight was blurred; he had never felt anything like it. He wondered if he had caused irreparable damage to himself. He tried to move again with no avail. He could feel his heart rushing to dangerous levels and tears running again without his permission. He had to close his eyes again, between the blurriness and the extremely starry sky; he had never seen anything like this… Asgard was devoid of any stars, being standing on a wormhole as the planetoid was… the price of the Bifrost, he supposed. Besides, Asgard wasn't a planet per se. No planet was flat, according to science. Asgard was more like an island being supported by magic, but nobody in his planet really cared. He was curios by nature; he couldn't just ignore what others thought a mere nuisance.

As a god he had never really felt tiredness, but right now? Right now he only wanted to close his eyes and give himself up to the realm of dreams. He needed to rest, that trip took everything and more of him. In despite of his tiredness, Loki smiled pleased. He had achieved what no one had reached before. He, Loki Odinson had travelled _blind _the Branches of Yggdrasil and lived to tell the story, kind of… before he could rejoice on his success, he felt panic rising in his chest when everything went blank…

4

Painful numbness was what Loki felt when he woke up… he couldn't properly feel his body, but underneath that numbness, his overdeveloped senses warned him of deep searing pain. He was lying down on something soft, but not quite comfortable. He could hear muffled sounds… people whispering or walking calmly, others despairing; cries and denial, a constant beep that now he noticed was getting on his last nerve. He opened his eyes, everything was half-lighted and the blurriness persisted. He wondered what was happening to him, was he going to live?

"_Hello […] child, it's good you […] we're […] you were […] up."_ Loki would have jumped startled if he could move his body. He looked at the being that just appeared by his side. It was a man… that was promising; he could make light hair, really dark eyes and was dressing with some sort of white coat. He blinked, when he noticed his he couldn't make completely what the man was talking. What was happening? He was the Silver-tongue; he could understand _every single spoken language _on the nine realms, what was happening_. "Do you […] me?" _Loki tried to open his mouth to say something, but the man put a hand close to his shoulder. _"Don't […] to […]" _

Loki put aside his frustration of not understanding someone for the first time in his life and focused on the fact that he had never seen a man like that. His eyes were almost shut and elongated; the man was also too yellow. By the nine realms where did he just land? The man was also extremely short to be a man. He had never seen man so short on his life.

"_Doctor, does the patience even understand Chinese?" _A nurse entered the room where the mysterious child was residing. She had noticed the doctor having a bit of trouble trying to communicated with somebody that was clearly western.

"_I don't think so, no." _He admitted turning his head back to look at the nurse._ "I don't even know if he coherent enough. He just tried to speak…" _

"_Let me try with English, doctor."_

"_Very well."_

"Hello… do you understand me?" Loki blinked. That was a language more manageable, he didn't know why, but his grasp on the language she was clumsily speaking make his brain understand it better. "Don't try to talk, young one. Your mouth was badly […]" The young god blinked again; there it was the glitch again. "Nod, if you can understand me." The child nodded. "Good, you are in a […] you were badly […] we are doing everything we can to […] you back to health, do you have any family?" Loki flinched when the woman asked for his family. "That's fine, hush little one… you will be fine…"

5

Loki could talk again… that was after two weeks of painful recovery in what hehad learned was a _hospital, _a healing place_. _Surprisingly he had landed in Midgard, one of the All-father's favourite realms. The God had gone to war with the Jotun in order to protect this realm. He didn't know why, but maybe now he could find why his father liked Midgard so much.

"Good morning, child. How are you feeling?" The nurse that spoke English entered the room and offered a smiled. Loki learned too that he was in a country called China and thus they spoke Chinese, but everybody told him he was a western and if the accent was anything to go by he was British.

"I am well, nurse Chang."

"That is good. Anything hurt? Discomfort?" The nurse asked, fixing something in the machine that was a monitor for his vitals; Midgard certainly had some interesting artefacts. Loki shook his head, but then he changed his mind.

"My leg itches, though…" His leg was covered with some white clad called plaster, because it had been broken in four places. The leg was being held up in a contraption made of nylon and cable. Apparently he had forsaken his magic for the time being and was… well… _human… _Homo sapiens sapiens, he was one more of that realm. He didn't know how to feel about that. It was ok, Midgard was a very accepting realm, it appeared…

"That is normal, it's the cast. Your leg is healing, that is very good." The nurse smiled and brushed his hair. "I'm sure you want a bath, don't you?"

"I am desperate for one, but nurse Chang the doctor said my cast couldn't be wetted…"

"I know but sponge baths are not enough… I will find some plastic covers and we will put you on a bath tub, you still have blood in some parts of your body."

"I am really grateful for what you are doing for me, nurse Chang."

"Don't be silly, child. Such a pretty thing like you…" Loki blushed. He had never been the object of such affection. In Midgard everybody had something to do with his black locks or with his _amazing_ steel green (whatever that colour was) eyes or his pout (he still didn't get that one) and his pretty shy smile. It made him very uncomfortable, but at the same time it made him feel warm insane. He never felt beautiful, but Midgardians? Midgardians made him feel like the God he was supposed to be. "Oh, yes, I almost forgot. We called the British authorities, they don't have any Loki Odinson in their database that matched your description, but don't worry these things happens, especially with parents as careless as yours, when you are ready to leave this horrible place; you will be deported and you will be adopted by some family."

"I am sorry?" Loki asked shakily.

"Oh, don't worry. You are too young, so you will be put through adoption. You seem to be really smart, at the point where our government doesn't want to let you go, but they will find you a good home on England…" The child was scarily smart actually, he had been given some test and stuff… he aced everything with barely effort. It was somewhat hilarious because he seemed so ignorant on the basic facts of life. He didn't know what a television or a cell phone was. It was endearing, they had reached the conclusion his parents were one of those nut-jobs that swore off technology and lived like hermits. Good riddance if anybody asked her… child as brilliant as Loki needed to be out on society living their live fully.

"Have you been to this England place before?" Loki asked twisting the fabric sheet that covered his body.

"No, child… I have never been outside China I'm afraid, my father was Russian, but everybody tells me it's a great place to live." He reassured the teen.

"I understand…"

"Good, now, let me see if I can give you that bath. You will feel a lot better after." The nurse informed him and after Loki smiled shyly and nodded the woman left him alone again.

6

If Loki needed to describe Midgard in one word he would chose: Messy. People in Midgard always seemed to be in a rush. Millions and millions of people came and go, to and fro. He had never seen so many people in one place. To conceive an Aesir child was really hard so reproduction was really difficult, so the population couldn't reach a peak as high as seemed to be in Midgard, which in every single corner seemed to be someone occupying space. In some way it was comforting, he was never alone.

After he was discharged from the hospital, he had been put by the government in something called a plane, which was a method of transportation that flew the airs. Midgardians had technology to make up for the fact they couldn't use magic. It was impressive how such a massive piece of metal and petrol raised up to the skies and transport more than seventy people at once.

The fly was long and boring, the nurses in the hospital gifted him with a book on Chinese; they had been trying to teach him the language given that he seemed to have some grasp on the language anyway. It seemed that Midgard had gifted people that could speak a language by mimicking the others around him. Midgard was, without a doubt and interesting place, where the mythical and the science could be found indiscriminately.

The plane arrived to a really big airport and more people were introduced to his already dizzy head. This time, people were more Asgardian. Fair hair, a wide range of eye colour, he even saw one individual with eyes like a cat of a fluorescent yellow; it was really strange. The man dressed extremely different from all his peers and his hair was a pointed display of brown and electric blue. Nobody seemed to bat a lash to those differences.

A woman with dark hair like him and soft hazel eyes was waiting for him with a cardboard sign written on Midgardian English that read his name and when he got close to her, she told him she was with the British Child Services… apparently children without family in Midgard was a common occurrence his parents would be appalled if they ever found out that in Midgard people abandoned their own blood on the streets.

He was taken to some place called an Orphanage, where children waited to be picked up by a family, _adoption._ He was going to be tested… _again _to find his placement on the British scholar system. Loki's eyes beamed when he was told that everybody was obligated to study and that it was encouraged to be good at it.

Again everybody was astonished when they saw the results of his tests, so he was shipped to one of the best schools of the country under a full scholarship. He decided to go boarding, because he really didn't like the Orphanage, but he was promised that he was on the top ten to be adopted. When they found a family that wanted to adopt him, they would come to the school and chat.

He told his social worker that who would want to adopt him, and that sent him to a person called: a child psychologist. It was amazing the level Midgardians understood the mind, _any mind. _The psychologist of the school was an old man with a beard and was pretty insistent on being called dick, which Loki knew it was how Midgardians referred to a man's penis. Loki being raised in court and by some people that were rather old fashioned, still blushed and stuttered when he spoke the man's name, but Midgardians could be found always swearing and insulting each other and that was considering _fine_, provided it wasn't malicious. Doctor Dick was very helpful in his quest to understand Midgardian as a whole.

Two month after he began school, which he loved and took like a fish in the water; honestly, he loved school and the teachers adored him, even the Headmaster loved him! He was often called the _teacher's pet_ by those jealous of his prowess, but he mostly ignored them. Some of them tried to bully him, but he wasn't the God of Mischief for nothing, he didn't have most of his power, he didn't know why he couldn't use his magic as well as in Asgard, but he had taught them a lesson nonetheless. On the overall everybody liked him, which made him really uncomfortable and was a novelty, especially when girls were always swooning around him trying to get his attention. He was not used to such attention and he just wanted for it to stop, no such luck, when he tried to be aloof and somewhat dismissive, people only thought he was making himself mysterious and hard to get. He had asked Dick about it and the man had laughed for a whole minute, before explaining to him that Loki was very strike looking and they were teenagers, it was normal. But returning to the point at hand, after two month of pure bliss, he met his-parent-soon-to-be… he didn't know how to explain it… It was love at first sight.

When he was called by the Headmaster, he was a bundle of nerves; he even tripped all his way to the Headmaster's office. He knew why he was being called to the Headmaster's office; he had been warned that a suitable match has been found for him and that the family wanted to meet him. Apparently, Mrs suffered an accident that killed her unborn child and rendered her unable to reproduce ever again, it was really sad.

They were as unmatched as any pair could ever be. She was blonde, not even his mother Frigga was this blonde, later on he learned that she was an albino, which was a condition found throughout all nature; in contrast her husband was black, even darker than Heimdall, he was an interesting shade of dark brown and purple, the man had really beautiful light hazel eyes which contrasted with his skin, making you notice his eyes first than his dark skin.

"Jesus, you are even more beautiful in person that in a photograph." The woman told him, which made him blush again. "Aw~ isn't he cute Neo?"

"Yes, he is quite cute Rachelle. Pleased to meet you Loki. I'm Neo Wright and this is my wife Rachelle Wright."

"H-hi… I'm… um~ Loki Odinson, sir…" Loki introduced himself really introverted.

"So Loki… do you want to be our son?" They were telling the truth, they were desperate for him to say yes to their proposal, he felt without air and his eyes watered.

"I… I don't know if I can be a good son, but I would be willing to try Mrs Wright."

"Oh, beautiful, beautiful child… I don't know who hurt you like this… but you will be the perfect son that, I can guarantee."

As he tried to explain before, it was love at first sight. He didn't know how or why, but when his adoptive mother held his hand for the first time, he knew he would never be alone again; it wasn't All-Seeing Queen Frigga… but he was amazed that this feeble human was damn close to.

7

The first time it happened, it almost sent Loki into a frenzy that made him pass out. It was really embarrassing. He knew humans, like a rule; didn't believe in magic and when they did they burned them on pyres. So when he caught the flu, horrible; nasty illness, he didn't even know he could contract and his magic went out of control, surpassing the levels he could usually use in Midgard and his parents witnessed; he panicked like never before.

When he woke up, he did it to the worried sight of his adoptive parents; he discovered a whole new world in Midgard. His mother was a mutant; she could shift her from very much like he could (but her albino façade was her born self). It was amazing to find out someone whom was just like him. His father was 100% human, but he loved his wife dearly and now that he had son too…

He was told about powerful Sorcerers (most of them, men! _Take that All-father)_. And people that could control reality with a mere thought of their head. He was alone no more, he was one more of the crowd; it was like a burden being released off his shoulder.

"Oh baby… Loki, don't be silly. We wouldn't have hated you if we were plain mundane. We love you and we always will. I know you don't believe my words, because of your previous experiences, but time will tell. Just, calm down, ok?"

"Yes, Mo… Rachelle."

"You can call me mother, Loki."

"Really?"

"Yes. I would never dare to take your real mother's place on your heart, but I hope you create a new one for me."

**TBC**


	3. Chapter II

**_Chapter II_**

8

The first thing Loki noticed that day at his favourite coffee shop was that his usual spot was taken and that every other table was already occupied. He bit his lips and even if the man didn't look too unapproachable. Loki could make him leave or at least ask if he could sit with him. The God of Mischief walked to his usual table and when he was standing before the other young man, the brunet looked at him.

"Yes?" The brunet asked, sipping his coffee.

"Everything else is full and I usually tend to sit here. Do you mind?" Loki asked, crossing his eyes with the other man.

"Go ahead, dude. I don't care." The person just shrugged dismissively. The black haired young, took a sit and couldn't avoid looking at the young man in front of him, he notice he knew him from somewhere, but he couldn't place where exactly.

"Thank you, very much obliged." The strange spoke with a very thick British accent, so Tony couldn't _not_ comment.

"You Brit?" The human brunet asked him.

"Yes, I lived most of my life in Scotland, but my parents had to move to the United States, so now I'm here." Loki explained honestly, pulling his laptop out. He had some papers due.

"Huh… you don't sound Scottish..." Loki just raised an eyebrow and returned to his essay without answering the last question.

Loki wrote for five minutes, before his sight came back to the young man before him. He looked up and their sights crossed. Loki cursed under his breath and quickly turned his attention to his computer again. Tony smirked and squashed the wants he felt bubbling in his chest of giggling.

"I'm Tony Stark, by the way…" The young man decided to introduce himself after the dancing around they had going for a while, offering his hand.

"You are the son of Howard Stark?" He asked, shaking the hand.

"The one and only…" He admitted bitter. Why everybody the first thing they did was to ask if he were Howard Stark's son? He was a genius and amazing in his own right, but there always was Howard muddling his life even after death.

"I thought your name was Anthony." Loki pointed, remembering the young man's name.

"Well, technically it is… I don't go by Anthony, tho." Anthony Stark shrugged. He loathed being called Anthony that name only had scorns and derision in his mind.

"I see, well… I'm pleased to meet you Mr Stark."

"Please, just Tony, there is no need for formalism, especially in such an informal setting, I see your computer as a Harvard's sticker. Are you a student?"

"I am a law student."

"Figures a lawyer…" The shorter brunet chuckled amused.

"Do you have issues with lawyers?"

"Far from it Mr Lawyer."

"I thought you lived in Malibu…" Loki asked Tony after snorting. "If I'm not overstepping my boundaries..." He apologised politely.

"Oh, dude. I have like… no boundaries. Yes, I do live in Malibu; I'm here because my godfather bullied me into doing a doctorate in business, so here I am." He explained moving his hands like showing him around.

"So you are joining our alma mater?"

"In the broadest possible sense…" Loki frowned suspicious. Tony just smiled huskily. "So, do you have a name, Gorgeous?"

"I do." He admitted, going back happily to his computer.

"Hu-uh… playing hard to get… well Mr Lawyer… if you ever want a good time, call me." He gave him a card, winking. He didn't offerthe card directly; he just slid the paper on the table and went away. Loki half-closed his lids and when Loki knew the young man was really gone; he picked the piece of cardboard up the table. It was a very futuristic design and the paper was really soft under his fingers.

_Anthony E. Stark_

_CEO of Stark Industries_

Loki snorted and he didn't know why he kept the card, but he slid it on his journal. Who knows? Having _the _Anthony Stark phone numbercould come handy later on and he was always about opportunities. His sight fell onto the watch and he cursed, he needed to finish the damn paper. He could think about Tony Stark, after he finished his paper.

9

"I'm fine mother, yes. Yes I received the books you sent me. Yes, yes… hello Melissa." He smiled at the woman that usually served him his coffee. The morning was a little bit gloomy, but those kinds of weathers always suited him better, he didn't know why he liked so much the blistering cold.

"Hey Loki. Your regular?"

"Yes, please." He answered the barista and returned to his mother calling him. "Yes, I'm here. Sorry, yes… coffee. How is dad? I'm glad he is fine; I wish he would have let me return home and cure his leg, mum… I know, I know that…" He complained sighing.

"Please give me coffee, I'm dying…" Loki heard a young man ask in the register next to him. He looked at his right and Anthony Stark was there, as hangover as humanly possible.

"Too much alcohol yesterday, Mr Stark?"

"Please beautiful have pity of this miserable man and give me coffee, any coffee." He pleaded, splattering himself on the counter and massaging his head.

"There you go Mr Star. Black, three shot of java." The barista told him, giving him a big cup of smoking coffee.

"You are a goddess among goddess, beautiful."

"Not going to work Mr Stark." Tony chuckled and took a sip of his coffee, leaving the cashier a bill of too big denomination, when he noticed someone.

"My, my… Mr Gorgeous how are you?"

"I'll call you later mum…" He told his mother, he was to disperse to pay his mother her due attention.

"Mr Stark, your change…" The woman tried to give the money to the famous engineer.

"Keep it." Tony dismissed in order to pay attention to the gorgeous guy in front of him.

"Yes, bye; I love you too…" He bode his goodbyes to his mother and proceed to look at Tony Stark.

"Aw~ isn't this cute?" The man mocked chuckling with his eyes twinkling. "Aren't cha a momma's boy?"

"I am well, Mr Stark. Thank you for your concern and yes… I, most certainly, am a momma's boy as you so grandiloquent put it."

"I understood like two words of all you said, dude." He to understand green-eyes was only making his headache worse.

"Then pay more attention, Mr Stark. Good day…" And with that cold farewell he left Stark mimicking being freezing.

"That was _glacial_." He mock shivered. He heard a laugh.

"Trust me Tony…" Tony's friend suddenly appeared behind him. The inventor turned his head back. "You will have more luck fucking the president that Loki Odinson-Wright."

"Loki? Like short from Lucas or Lucian?" The brunet snorted, highly amused.

"Noup, just Loki… I have him on my ethic class; you wouldn't believe he is a bookworm by the way he looks."

"Hey! What is the problem with being a bookworm, douche!?" Somebody yelled. That coffee population was mostly made of Harvard students, which meant a lot of people laughed at the comment.

"Careful with the geeks, dude, they one day will own the world." Tony sniggered when his friend just rolled his eyes. "And dude, there is nothing wrong with window shopping." He told his friend, passing his arms by his shoulder. He knew his friend wasn't gay; he wasn't even bi-curious, in contrast with himself whom would do it with a cow if he was drunk enough. But even the heterosexual man could appreciate such a work of art.

"He could shove your sorry ass to prison faster that you can say: whipped! The guy is famous even if he doesn't have much time in the law business." His friend gossiped all hush-hush. Tony sniggered.

"You my friend are a Gossip Queen." The engineer confessed to the other man passing his arm again around his neck.

"STFU, Tony."

10

Loki was walking freely under the rain without an umbrella; it was the best of feelings. The water was like cold needled on his skin, but it felt comfortable… he tried to ignore his eccentricities; his mother told him that everybody had them and he shouldn't worry too much. He pulled his hair back, because his fringe was being all sticky on his forehead and cheeks when he found somebody sitting on a bench with his eyes lost in the void. He would have ignored the man sitting there alone, but he knew that man… It was Anthony Stark. What was the man doing there in the rain?

"Stark! Is everything alright?" Tony seemed a little bit exalted when Loki talked, but he managed to put a half-smiled for the god.

"Hey Odinson… enjoying a walk in the rain?" The engineer tried to deflect.

"Stark I asked you a query, answer it."

"I'm fine…"

"You call fine being under the rain without an umbrella, sitting on a god's forsaken bench? What happened?"

"I didn't felt like celebrating my birthday too much today."

"It's your birthday?"

"Yes! Yippy!" Tony remarked very sarcastic picking a bottle from the ground. He was going to take a big gulp, but Loki didn't allow the young man to drink from it. It was opened and mostly contaminated by the rain.

"Where are your friends Stark?" Loki asked puzzled. Stark was never alone, he was always surrounding by groupies and paparazzi and pretty women and men.

"My friends?" Tony snorted. "Pepper is studying business management somewhere and Rhodey is in the military somewhere and JARVIS cannot be here corporally… Rhodey called me yesterday because today he was going to be sent away, really away and Pepper called me a few hours ago…"

"What about that bumbling idiot, the brunet one whom is always around you?" He asked even more confused.

"They are just people I met here…" Loki was looking at him the same way people looked at him when they figured out his life was not so shining how the press painted it. "I don't need your pity, go away and give me back my bottle." The rain was subsiding and was beginning to be a soft drizzle in comparison with the deluge of a few minutes ago.

"This is just rain water Stark…" He explained draining the bottle. Tony thought Loki Odinson-Wright had a very sexy voice and he melted when the young man pronounced 'water'. He also was right… the liquid that began as a dark brown now was just a very diluted mix of Peruvian and Wood brown. Tony closed his eyes and rested his head on the bench. "Stark…"

"Go away Odinson-Wright… unless you can magic up a bottle of scotch I want to be alone."

"Who wants to be alone on his day of birth?" Loki asked carefully. Even the All-father and the All-seeing Frigga always pay him attention a cut him a slack on his birthday. Hell, even Thor and his four idiots became tolerable that day.

"I want. So scram… dude why do you care?" Tony asked flabbergasted when Loki didn't even blink.

"Maybe my parents raised me too well…"

"Lucky you that have parents that give a damn about you…" Howard Stark haunted Tony even after death.

"I don't want to be dismissive or petulant. But I am indeed fortunate that I have the parents I have… would you like me to call my mother? She is a remarkable woman whom has a great heart and is quite versed in offering comfort to those in need…" Loki offered pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialling without waiting for an answer. Tony was left there with his mouth hanging. "Mom?" He asked to the phone in speakers.

"_Hi there baby… to what do I owe this pleasure?" _

11

Loki frowned when he heard his door being knocked. He wasn't expecting anything to be delivered or someone visiting. He got up of the chair where he was studying and opened the door. A really pretty woman, long hair auburn in colour; dull green eyes and a pretty smile was behind the door dressed like a school girl with flowers in her hand. Loki raised an eyebrow…

"From Tony Stark, handsome… he sends his thanks for making everything better." The woman gave him the flowers and kissed him on the cheek. She winked at him, cutely; going away.

Loki closed the door still in shock and went to search for the card where he had Tony's phone number and called him.

"_Stark?" _The God of Mischief heard Tony's voice on the phone.

"Did you just send me flowers?"

"_Depends… did you like them?"_

"You are an idiot…" Tony laughed freely and Loki couldn't but return the favour. "An endearing one, but an idiot nonetheless… The next time bring the flowers yourself." That only made the engineer laughs harder.

"_Talk to you later, Gorgeous… I'm trying to not kill myself with this experiment." _

"Be well, Stark…"

"_Yeah, you too." _

12

"Odinson! Wait!" Loki turned his head when he heard Stark calling for him.

"Did you want something?"

"Yeah. You like opera and musicals and that stuff, don't you?"

"I do, why are you asking?" The Aesir asked, shifting his book to a more comfortable position in his arms.

"Look dude. I have these tickets for I don't even know; it might as well be Don Giovanni…" The engineer looked at the tickets… "Yes, it's Don Giovanni in the Lowell House Opera and first I'm pants at this operas thingies, even if I can speak Italian and second I don't know anybody who likes this stuff… so, here; take them. I don't know where people get the impression that I'm literate or whatever…" Loki snorted at the comment, taking the tickets. "Well that's it… I'm going… don' tell me how it went… honestly just don't…" Loki laughed as never in his life when Tony said that.

"That second ticket is for me, isn't it?" Loki turned to look at his friend.

"I don't know… maybe I will just invite Gabriela…" He smirked.

"You wouldn't!" The woman opened her brown eyes widely, in a very bad impersonation of surprise.

"Maybe!" And after that he began to run.

"Come back here Odinson-Wright! Don't go away with my ticket!"

**TBC**


	4. Chapter IV

_**Chapter IV**_

13

His watch was telling him that he was going to be stood up… he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called to his supposed companion. The opera was going to begin in half an hour and he had both tickets so he couldn't get in and just wait for his friend to come whenever they would arrive.

"Where the hell are you? You told me you were going to be here an hour before I arrived!"

"_Shit… I'm sorry Loki, but my period came a few hours ago and I suffer from dysmenorrhea…"_

"Are you ok? You sound horrible…"

"_I'm sorry I didn't call… to be honest… I fainted and I just woke up ten minutes or so ago…"_

"No… that's ok…"

"_Oh God… I need to vomit! I'm sorry, by-" _Loki looked at his phone and killed the call, because he could hear his friend puking.

The Aesir bit his lips and tinkered with his phone for a few seconds. He didn't want to go to Don Giovanni again all by himself. Don Giovanni along with La Traviata were his father's favourites Operas and he had seen the play in several renditions. He noticed he had Tony's phone on recent calls, he pushed the call button.

"_Stark speaking?" _

"It's Loki…"

"_Hum~ I will add your number to my contact list…" _The God heard Tony talking to Jarvis asking him to put the number he was currently talking to into his contact book._ "What can I do for you Odinson-Wright?" _

"My friend, I don't know if you even noticed her, but she suffers of dysmenorrhea and couldn't come and now I'm here in the steps of the Lowell house alone…"

"_That's… ergh… curable, right?" _Tony didn't even want to imagine what kind of sickness was called _dysmenorrhea…_

"Yes Stark, she suffers greatly in her period, that's all."

"_Oh…? Yikes. Um~ so?"_

"I don't want to see it again all by myself, because I have already seen almost five different renditions of this particular play."

"_I see?" _

"Oh! For the nine realms! Stark! Are you being oblivious on purpose? Do I have to spell it for you? Do you want to come and see it with me?" He asked like a frazzled kitten.

"_Shut up JARVIS… oh… sorry I didn't know you where inviting me… shit, sorry, dude! I hate the opera, seriously… especially Don Giovanni, my parents, I hope they're rotting in hell; abandoned me once in Don Giovanni and even when the police called them, they sent the chauffeur to pick me up from the station…"_ Loki didn't say anything. _"Look, it's not that I don't want to go out with you because that's like totally not true, but… why don't you come to my apartment I have Don Juan DeMarco… I think this is way better than Don Giovanni… yes? I even offer to go and pick you out myself if you don't want to walk or take public transportation…" _

"Stark… I have a car…" He made the engineer know.

"_Oh… well, ergh~ see you here?" _

"Might as well. I'll be there in twenty."

"_I'll be here… I'll text you my address." _Loki got the phone off of his ear when Tony cut the line and went to the first person he found.

"Hey! Do you want two tickets to Don Giovanni? If not, take them anyway. Thanks, farewell…"

The poor unsuspecting man that was taking as stroll with her very pregnant wife was left there in shock with two tickets for the very exclusive and privileged opera "Don Giovanni." Those tickets were impossibly expensive and somebody just gifted them to them? Speak about random luck.

14

Loki had a familiar pizza on his hands: margarita and pepperoni and was waiting for the lift to take him to the last floor where Stark was waiting for him. The lift, which could hold twenty people inside; plin'ed and the doors opened. An expensive flat that looked like something pulled out of a magazine greeted him. It was ridiculously big and at the end of the lounge, the balcony had a Jacuzzi which was full with swirling and steaming water.

"Hey! Oh! You did bring the pizza! Thanks dude! How much? I'm starving!" Tony greeted him with a big smile.

"It's nothing…" He dismissed giving the pizza to the young man.

"But…"

"Leave it Stark…" Loki sneered.

"Okay… there is no need to be snarky… geez…"

"Do you live here all alone?" The green-eyed young man asked. Tony looked at the Aesir swallowing the pizza he had previously bit.

"Yeah, why?"

"Don't you feel agoraphobic here by yourself?"

"Noup…" The shorter man answered dismissively. Loki couldn't help but noticing that Tony's voice echoed in the room. "So is your friend alright?"

"I believe so; I was cut middle call by vomit…"

"Gross…"

"I apologize…" He said immediately, remembering that Tony was eating.

"No, that's ok I'm not squeamish. C'mon, let's go to my room."

He didn't know what was imagining when he was thinking out Anthony Stark's room, but most certainly it was not this… the room had a box spring bed with plain white sheets that were stained by dark oil. Monitors, computers; tools, clothes; shoes and servos were left clumsily everywhere on the floor.

"Sorry, the maid comes one day a week. I'm just a walking disaster… just sit wherever you think you can sit. Hey JAR… how is everything?" Loki frowned, the famous Jarvis was there?

_Everything is coming nicely Sir. We shall have some results tomorrow morning…_

"Cool, let me know if anything changes!"

_Of course, sir._

"Where is that voice coming from?" The Aesir asked somewhat unnerved.

"Uh? Oh! Sorry! That's just Jarvis… it's… well… JARVIS?" He could never explain JARVIS to anybody. People always misunderstood his words and nobody seemed to understand the depth of his good friend and confidant JARVIS.

_In a few words Mr Odinson-Wright, I'm just a very smart artificial intelligence…_

"Artificial Intelligence? Like cyborgs and robotics?" The taller brunet asked interested.

_It is within the field Mr Odinson-Wright. _

"I didn't know Earth have something so advanced!"

"It doesn't. I created JARVIS myself."

"Stark that's amazing…" Tony just shrugged off, like if giving life to a being; albeit an artificial one was something bucolic and without merit.

"Do you want pizza?" The inventor asked offering the box.

"Sure, why not?" He picked a slice sitting on the bed, carefully of not disturbing the work of the engineer. "How long it took you to create JARVIS?"

"Well, I was four years old when I created the first circuit for the motherboard it's just got kind of viral from there…"

"I'm really surprised… people are not kidding when they call you a genius, are they not?" Tony just shrugged again. Loki was beginning to feel flabbergasted.

"Hey JAR!"

_Sir?_

"Play on the movie. Or do you want to see something else?" The shorter brunet asked him, looking at him.

"I am amenable to watch Don Juan DeMarco."

"Cool. I love Jonny Depp. I met him a few years ago, he was so cool!" Stark began to babble excited. "I have a photo he signed and it was so cool, because he has some prototype I created and he asked me to sign it for him! I felt so stupid doing that but it was great!"

"You, Stark; are an odd ball…" Tony snorted. Loki smiled wickedly.

"Call me Tony." He asked for the first time.

"If I was to call you anything, it shall be Anthony…"

"Fine, whatever… keep calling me Stark."

"Of course, _Anthony…" _

JARVIS chuckled and Loki was smirking.

"Traitors! Both of you!"

If JARVIS could smile he would have done so. He turned the TV and the DVD off. They had seen two movies, at the third Tony was pretty much sleeping with his eyes open and Loki had passed out on the credits of the second movie. Tony was sleeping now with his eyes closed with the head on the crook of the bed and sitting on the floor with his arms crossed on his chest and the mouth slightly open. Loki had made himself a little ball, very much like a cat and was hugging a pillow with his head on a little of the same pillow. It was adorable, he couldn't help it… he took a photo for posterity, maybe even blackmailing…

15

_Sir… you are going to be late for your classes… Mr Odinson-Wright, can you please wake up already? _JARVIS sighed when Tony growled and Loki was just unresponsive. _Sir…! _He tried again without much result. JARVIS pressed his proverbial lips and played back something that would most certainly wake the young man._ "Anthony Edward Stark!" _The potent voice of Howard Stark was heard, yelling. Tony and Loki got up with their hearts on their throats.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Tony screamed at JARVIS still with his heart pumping in his ears.

"Fuck Stark! I'm going to be late!" Loki said when he looked at his watch.

_That is what I have been trying to tell you for the last half hour, sirs… _

"Oh for fuck's sake Odinson, chillax; I don't need another nagging JARVIS up on my ass. Calm down… I can drive over two thousand without killing anybody. I will have you in class, five minutes before class begins."

"I brought my own car!"

"Who cares? It's in the garage… nothing is going to happen to your car… JARVIS…"

_Sir?_

"Make coffee."

_Very well sir. May I advise hasten? _

"Whatever JARVIS, don't nag…"

_Mr Odinson-Wright would you like coffee? _The AI asked purposely ignoring his creator.

"That would be wonderful JARVIS… thank you…"

_Cappuccino? Mocha? JAVA? Mint? Mint-chocolate? __We have the cold variety ones too._

"Regular dark coffee will suffice Jarvis…"

16

Loki got out of Tony's car as fast as he could with his hands and knees shaking so bad, he could barely walk. Tony wasn't kidding when he said he would have him with plenty of time. The young man had eaten most of the red lights on the way, almost killed a dog along with a blind man and delineated a line of street-cones like a pro in the F1 with only centimetres of distance in a particular dangerous curve.

"You ok there, Odinson?"

"I'm never, NEVER going in a car again with you!"

"What!? You were the one who told me to get you here as fast as I could!"

"NOT AT THE COST OF MY LIFE, YOU IDIOT!"

"Relax dude, I was taught to drive by Formula one's drivers!"

"It shows!"

"I don't like your tone…"

"How you got your license it's beyond me!"

"Hey! I will tell you I aced my fucking license drive test!"

"I'm not done with you! But I need to go to the bathroom and then to class!"

Tony just shrugged and decided to skive off his first class of that day, and probably the next one too. JARVIS had let him know that his experiments were ready to debug when he was trying to get Loki to class in time. He needed to commandeer one of the labs. He pulled his bag from the trunk and walked calmly.

17

"Can you see him, old friend?" The man asked worriedly.

"I have tried, old friend… I am afraid to utter the words aloud, but… there is a great possibility that he is lost to us…"

"Nay! He is not dead! We know as much…"

"Then you know a great more than I do, old friend… it is possible he is beyond his time…"

18

"_Do you know anything about fucking Hume?"_

"Hello Anthony, good afternoon; where did you leave your manners today?" Loki asked sarcastic, when Tony called him.

"_Yes, hello. Do you?"_

"I apologize, what was your query again?" He asked letting his books aside.

"_Do you know anything about Hume?" _

"The Soil, the Language or the Philosopher?" Loki enumerated, trying to get his thought on Tony's track and away from his legal homework.

"_The philosopher! I'm an engineer! I know every programing language I can get my hands on! And there is a type of soil called Hume? Dude, what the fuck?" _

"There, there Stark… there is no need to get your knickers in a twist. I do know of the Sceptic philosopher David Hume. What do you want to know about him?"

"_Anything! Wait… scepticism is a philosophic trend? Are you fucking kidding me? Argh! Fuck this! Shut up JARVIS! I don't want to hear it!" _

"You might want to read _Essay Moral and Political…_ that may help you understand what you need from Hume."

"_Whut?! Do you want me to read a whole fucking book about a dead man?! No way! JARVIS already told me that!"_

"Then what do you need of me, Anthony?" Loki asked curiously, tapping his fountain pen on the table.

"_Dummy, stop it! Can you help me?" _He whined on the phone, kicking something.

"I thought you had photographic memory?"

"_I do! I just…! Who the hell care about the morality of humanity for fuck's sake!? I said: Leave. Me. Alone. Dummy!" _

"Life is not just equations and numbers, Anthony…" Loki was really curious to know who 'Dummy' was.

"_Look dude, freedom of choice and stuff, but why can't, us; hard sciences be left alone with all these mankind troubles and stuff?" _

"Do you want help or not?" Loki snapped, growling.

"_I do…" _He replied meekly._ "Do you have Skype or do you want to come over? And if you can bring the books I will be eternally grateful…"_

"I will be there… it's not like I have something better to do anyway…"

"_Okey… bye…" _

Loki packed his laptop and went away, picking on the way his car keys when his phone went off again. He rolled his eyes when he saw Tony's number on his phone.

"What now Stark?" Loki asked scanty.

"_I am very sorry, Mr Odinson-Wright, it is not Mr Stark."_

"JARVIS?"The god asked uncertain when he recognized the rather computerized voice.

"_Indeed Sir…"_

"What happened?"

"_Nothing sir, but could you do me a favour?"_

"What can I do for you?"

"_I am afraid that Mr Stark is rather incapable of taking care of himself and he had not ingested any food beyond coffee in the last thirty eight hours, do you mind picking something akin of food, for Mr Stark to ingest?"_

"Are you saying that Anthony has almost two day only going with coffee?"

"_And Scotch…" _

"I'll bring Chinese…"

"_I will text you Mr Stark usual taste in Chinese food…"_

"You do that, see you in an hour tops, JARVIS."

"_Very much obliged, Mr Odinson-Wright."_

"Call me Loki…"

"_Very well Mr Loki…"_

19

The guard on the entrance of the building where Stark lived let him in; opening the parking door. He parked his car besides Tony's grey Audi and called Stark to send the lift to take him up. When the lift's door opened, the engineer was already waiting for him with a wide smile. Something Anthony Stark, in Loki's eyes; was like little children, it was a really weird, endearing trait.

"Is that Chinese?" He blurted, after his nose picked up the smell and his stomach rumbled, reminding him: he had not eaten in a long time.

"Hello _Anthony."_

"Hello Loki Odinson-Wright… why did you bring food?" Not that he was complaining of course. The only thing available on his pantries was coffee… and booze.

"You look a little deranged… have you been sleeping?" Loki asked concerned when he looked at the usually sexy and handsome Tony Stark… right now the engineer looked like somebody punched his sockets… the purple was beginning to look black, might as well be oil… his hair was all dishevelled and you could see clumps of dark grease. He was dressed with a yellowish shirt full of stains and some sport pants that had seen better days and had some holes in them. Loki wanted to take the shorter man and put it to sleep for at least three days.

"Dunno? Maybe? Sometimes?" He honestly didn't know. JARVIS may have the answer, though; not that he was going to bring _that _issue. JARVIS could be worse than the best of mothers…

"Here, you childe… eat before you pass out from exhaustion…" He shoved the food to the shorter man.

"How much?"

"I don't need your money, go and eat…" He made Anthony know calmly.

"I don…" The hazel eyed man tried to rebuke.

"I say I don't need your money Stark!" He snarled again annoyed. Who did Stark thought he was? A pauper? He didn't need Stark's money! He was an Asgardian Prince! A very unloved one, but a prince nonetheless.

"I'm not a stray dog!" Tony shrieked, trying to rebuke Loki.

"Just eat! By the nine realms, Stark! Stop arguing with me!"

"Fine! So… about this Hume dude?" Tony asked opening one of the cardboard containers, trying to guess how the hell Odinson-Wright knew what he normally ate when it was Chinese food. He picked the chopsticks and put a handful on his mouth.

"Eat; shower and sleep and then I might be willing to speak about David Hume then…"

"I don't smell…" He swallowed fast to be able to speak again. He had manners… _sort of…_

"Of course you don't… you have so much grease on your body, you smell like an automobile repair shop… I'm surprised you are even human by now." Loki mocked cleaning with his thumb a smudge of grease on the cheek of the inventor. They both blushed when they realized what Loki had just done.

"I…" Tony stuttered. Loki was about to go into shock and JARVIS just found the situation adorable.

"Go to take a shower… I'm sure JARVIS can entertain me." The young god decided in the end. "I think your stomach may want to finish the food first."

20

Loki was babbling about Hume and the Scepticism, the same way Tony babbled about robotics and science. Tony was sitting in front of Loki with his legs and arms crossed and he was giving all he got to not falling asleep, but the taller brunet's voice was like a lullaby and his British accent was triggering two conflicted part of his mind. He didn't know whether to be asleep or aroused and that sucked, because Loki didn't allow him more coffee and JARVIS was backing the green-eyed young man with all he got; he was crashing and crashing hard.

_Mr Loki?_

"What is it JARVIS?"

_You might want to take notice that Anthony is sleeping with his eyes open…_

"Oh… I wasn't wrong with my calculations. I was drawling the most boring stuff I knew about that branch of philosophy." He confessed shameless. He waved his hands in front of Tony's face, but the engineer had just plain passed out. He closed the young man's eyes and pushing a little with his index finger on the shorter brunet's forehead, Tony fell onto the bed and god knew when he would be wakening again. JARVIS seemed to be a mind-reader too because he assured him that Tony didn't sleep much even sleep deprived as he was. Microsleeping, JARVIS had called it. He found it stupid. He understood Da Vinci's reasons for not sleeping, but they were only humans. Even him, an Aesir; needed rest…

21

Tony felt his brain mushy and useless. He didn't want to open his eyes; because everything was really heavy, it was annoying… he cleared his throat, feeling it dry and somewhat sore. He opened one eye and was going to call dummy for water, when his open eye caught some figure it didn't belong.

"Welcome to the world of the living, Sleeping Beauty…" Loki mocked at him. While Tony slept, Loki was with his laptop finishing some papers and homework for his classes, besides… Stark bed was really comfy, and the machines wiring and JARVIS were great company, believe it or not.

"Shit!" Tony said waking up faster than his body could. "I fell asleep, didn't I? Fuck, I'm sorry Odinson…"

"Anthony…" He tried, but Tony kept babbling. "Anthony…" The black haired young man rolled his eyes. "Anthony!" He put more emphasis in the word and put his fingers on the other man's lips. Tony tripped back, startled. "Don't worry too much about it. I was expecting for you to fall asleep… have you look yourself into the mirror recently? You look like death warmed you over…"

"Ergh… right… I'm sorry anyway, I mean…"

"Oh for god's sake Stark, enough! If I had minded you sleeping, I would have left. I was trying to make you sleep! I already told you, you look like you are about to die!"

"Ok! Ok! Sorry, sorry, sorry! Geez! JARVIS, what time is it?"

_It's nine o'clock in the afternoon, sir._

"Shit… what did you do all this time I was sleeping?" He asked really guilty. Loki shrugged.

"JARVIS let me watch telly and I have my laptop with me, so I was basically doing what I was doing in the dorms… except I could check you have not died just quite yet…"

"I didn't have a concussion!" He complained, feeling something really warm inside. He squashed the feeling the best of his abilities. The green-eyed man just rolled his eyes. "Let me make it up to you! Let's go and have dinner!"

"What?"

"Dinner! We can go to any restaurant you want! Do you like sushi?"

"Not particularly…" He was not partial to sea food, even after all those years in Midgard he couldn't quite bring himself to like seafood. Asgard never had anything edible in its oceans. He was not overly fond of raw meat, especially heart or liver, which was also a tradition in Asgard when somebody killed an animal to eat the thing raw. Borrowing a Midgardian phrase: Yikes…

"C'mon!"

"Very well Stark. If it will make you _eat_. Let's go out and eat."

"Cool! JARVIS! We will be going. Have you seen my phone and my shoes? You know…? Those sport ones with white and yellow?" He asked making a recognizance without luck.

_They are by the Jacuzzi, sir… _JARVIS provided always helpful.

"How could you possible know that?" Loki asked half surprised half incredulous.

_Mr Stark has all his belongings tagged with a sticker microchip that allows me to locate them without much hassle. It is most helpful, as you may know already; Mr Stark is not the tidiest person in this world. _

"Shut up JARVIS!" Tony muttered blushing like a milk maiden. It was getting annoying.

"Well that most certainly has to come handy…" It was a great idea actually.

"It was JARVIS' idea…" He admitted rubbing his cheek.

"Of course it was JARVIS' idea, Anthony… I wouldn't have thought any different. It's really fortunate that JARVIS exists, I'm not sure you would be alive by now otherwise…"

_Thanks Mr Loki those are really kind words… I'm happy to oblige…_

"I created him!" Tony whined watching Loki and JARVIS ganging on up him.

"You only moment of lucid clarity not doubt about it…"

"STFU, Odinson-Wright." Tony sulk.

"Are you going to sulk? Aw~ aren't you adorable?"

"I'm not adorable! I'm manly and dashing!" He complained dressing something different from his sport pants and sleeveless vests (which after the shower when Loki's arrived, he picked some ones in good condition).

"Yeah whatever Don Juan, let's go and eat. Do you like Ethiopian?" He asked from the living room.

"I don't have an opinion on Ethiopian food. I usually eat what people put in front of me." He confessed getting out of the room to rendezvous with Loki.

"That is good. You will enjoy the place. Here are your shoes and your mobile phone." Loki gave him the gear. He had going to the balcony and effectively found the shoes and the cell phone lying closely, but not enough to be wet by the Jacuzzi.

"Oh~ you shouldn't have…" He accepted his things, really awkward.

"Oh please do not begin with this again Stark. Let's go."

"Bye JARVIS!"

_Have a good time, sir. See you another time, Mr Loki. _JARVIS saw them go as polite as always.

"Of course JARVIS, farewell…"

**TBC**


End file.
